Display panel assembly and electronic equipment including the same

ABSTRACT

A display panel assembly and an electronic device including the assembly are disclosed. In one aspect, the assembly includes a window cover including a display area and a non-display area and a display panel disposed on a location of a rear surface of the window cover corresponding to the display area. The assembly further includes a dielectric mirror layer disposed on a location of the rear surface of the window cover corresponding to the non-display area which selectively reflects light incident through the window cover to provide a metallic color sense to a user and a light absorbing layer absorbing light transmitted through the dielectric mirror layer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/777,898, filed Feb. 26, 2013. Application Ser. No. 13/777,898 claimedthe benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0101800, filed onSep. 13, 2012, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The described technology generally relates to a display panel assemblyand electronic equipment including the same.

2. Description of the Related Technology

As demands for electronic devices such as a mobile phone, a tabletcomputer, and the like increase, demands for electronic devices ofvarious outer shapes and colors has also increased.

The demands of users for various outer shapes of the electronic devicesmay be satisfied by designing the electronic devices using curves andstraight lines in combination, and the demands of users for variouscolors may be satisfied by varying kinds of paints used in manufactureof the electronic devices, but it is limited to develop a paintproviding a sense of texture in addition to a color.

SUMMARY

One inventive aspect is a display panel assembly and electronicequipment including the same that may provide metallic colors.

Another aspect is a display panel assembly including a window coverincluding a display area and a non-display area; a display paneldisposed on a location of a rear surface of the window covercorresponding to the display area; a dielectric mirror layer disposed ona location of the rear surface of the window cover corresponding to thenon-display area which selectively reflects light incident through thewindow cover to provide a metallic color sense to a user; and a lightabsorbing layer absorbing light transmitted through the dielectricmirror layer.

The dielectric mirror layer may be formed of alternating layers ofhigh-refractive-index layers and low-refractive-index layers.

The dielectric mirror layer may include a first dielectric layer locatedon the rear surface of the window cover; a second dielectric layerlocated on the first dielectric layer; and a third dielectric layerlocated on the second dielectric layer.

Thicknesses of the first, second, and third dielectric layers may bedifferent from one another.

Refractive indexes of the first and third dielectric layers may besmaller than a refractive index of the second dielectric layer.

Refractive indexes of the first and third dielectric layers may belarger than a refractive index of the second dielectric layer.

The light absorbing layer may be a black printing layer.

The dielectric mirror layer may include a dielectric layer includingtitanium dioxide (TiO₂); and a dielectric layer including silicondioxide (SiO₂).

The dielectric mirror layer may include an uneven surface.

The display panel assembly may further include a molding layer locatedbetween the rear surface of the window cover and the dielectric mirrorlayer, wherein a surface of the molding layer facing the dielectricmirror layer is an uneven surface.

Another aspect is a display panel assembly including a window coverincluding a display area and a non-display area formed on a perimeteraround the display area; an organic light emitting display paneldisposed at a location of a rear surface of the window covercorresponding to the display area; a dielectric mirror layer disposed ona location of the rear surface of the window cover corresponding to thenon-display area, includes a plurality of dielectric layers, andselectively reflects light that corresponds to a wavelength satisfyingconditions of constructive interference from light incident through thewindow cover; and a light absorbing layer disposed on the dielectricmirror layer and absorbing light that transmitted the dielectric mirrorlayer.

A first dielectric layer and a second dielectric layer, wherein one ofthe first and second dielectric layers may be a relativelyhigh-refractive-index layer and the other may be a low-refractive-indexlayer.

The dielectric mirror layer may include a dielectric layer includingtitanium dioxide (TiO₂); and a dielectric layer including silicondioxide (SiO₂).

The display panel assembly may further include a molding layer locatedbetween the rear surface of the window cover and the dielectric mirrorlayer, wherein a surface of the molding layer facing the dielectricmirror layer is an uneven surface.

Another aspect is an electric equipment including a housing having atleast one open surface; and a display panel assembly disposed as tocover the open surface of the housing, wherein the display panelassembly includes a window cover including a display area and anon-display area formed on a perimeter around the display area; anorganic light emitting display panel disposed at a location of a rearsurface of the window cover corresponding to the display area; adielectric mirror layer disposed on a location of the rear surface ofthe window cover corresponding to the non-display area, includes aplurality of dielectric layers, and selectively reflects light incidentthrough the window cover; and a light absorbing layer absorbing lightthat transmitted the dielectric mirror layer.

The dielectric mirror layer may include alternately stacked dielectriclayers of high refractive indexes and dielectric layers of lowrefractive indexes.

The dielectric mirror layer may include a first dielectric layer locatedon the rear surface of the window cover; a second dielectric layerlocated on the first dielectric layer; and a third dielectric layerlocated on the second dielectric layer, wherein refractive indexes ofthe first and third dielectric layers is either larger or smaller than arefractive index of the second dielectric layer.

The light absorbing layer may be a black printing layer.

The electric equipment may further include a film attached on the rearsurface of the window cover using an adhesive; and a molding layerformed on a rear surface of the film, between the rear surface of thewindow cover and the dielectric mirror layer.

A surface of the molding layer facing the dielectric mirror layer may bean uneven surface, and the dielectric mirror layer may include a bumpysurface formed in correspondence to the bumpy surface of the moldinglayer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an electronicdevice installed with a display panel assembly according to anembodiment.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the display panel assemblyillustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional taken along line of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a magnified cross-sectional view taken from a part of thedisplay area of the display panel assembly according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a magnified view of V of FIG. 3 which is a magnifiedcross-sectional view of the opaque layer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual view schematically illustrating a path of lightincident through the opaque layer.

FIG. 7 is a magnified cross-sectional view of an opaque layer accordingto another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list ofelements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify theindividual elements of the list.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference tothe attached drawings. This invention may, however, be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. The terminology used herein is for thepurpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended tobe limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”,“an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unlessthe context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understoodthat the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. It will beunderstood that although the terms first and second are used herein todescribe various elements, these elements should not be limited by theseterms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from anotherelement. Thus, a first element discussed below could be termed a secondelement, and similarly, a second element may be termed a first elementwithout departing from the teachings of this disclosure.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to asbeing “on” another element or layer, the element or layer can bedirectly on another element or layer or intervening elements or layers.In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on”another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layerspresent.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an electronicdevice 1 installed with a display panel assembly 20 according to anembodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the display panelassembly 20 illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional takenalong line III-III of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 1, the electronic device 1 may include a housing 10having at least one open surface, and a display panel assembly 20. Theelectronic device 1 may be a portable electronic device such as a mobilephone or a tablet computer, but is not limited thereto.

The housing 10 has at least one surface thereof opened, and the opensurface of the housing 10 may be covered by the display panel assembly20. Elements related to driving the electronic device 1, such as abattery or a terminal to communicate with an external base station maybe installed in the housing 10.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the display panel assembly 20 may include awindow cover 110, and a display panel 120 and an opaque layer 130 eachdisposed on a rear surface of the window cover 110. Although not shown,the rear surface of the display panel 120 may further include a cover(or bezel) to protect the display panel 120.

The window cover 110 includes a display area DA and a non-display areaNDA, which is formed on a perimeter around (circumference of) thedisplay area DA. The display panel 120 may be disposed on a locationcorresponding to the display area DA, and the opaque layer 130 may bedisposed on a location corresponding to the non-display area NDA.

The window cover 110 includes a transparent material. For example, thewindow cover 110 may include a glass substrate or a polymer substrate.The polymer substrate may include polyimide, but is not limited thereto.

The display panel 120 is disposed on a location corresponding to thedisplay area DA of the window cover 110, and the display panel 120 maybe attached to the rear surface of the window cover 110 using anadhesive. The display panel 120 may be an organic light emitting displaypanel, but is not limited thereto. For example, the display panel 120may be a liquid crystal display panel.

In one embodiment, the opaque layer 130 is disposed on the locationcorresponding to the non-display area NDA of the window cover 110, andthus light incident through the window cover 110 may be selectivelyreflected to provide a metallic color sense to a user. In this regard,the opaque layer 130 includes a dielectric mirror layer 134 (see FIG.5), and an overall construction of the opaque layer 130 will bedescribed in detail at corresponding parts with reference to FIGS. 5 to7.

FIG. 4 is a magnified cross-sectional view taken from a part of thedisplay area DA of the display panel assembly 20 according to anembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, the display area DA of the display panel assembly20 may include a display panel 120 disposed on the rear surface of thewindow cover 110, and the display panel 120 may be attached to the rearsurface of the window cover 110 using an adhesive 105. The display panel120 may include a first substrate 210, a display device 220 disposed onthe first substrate 210, a second substrate 250 formed on the displaydevice 220, and an optical film 260 formed on the second substrate 250.

The display element 220 includes an organic light emitting device 240including a pixel electrode 241, a counter electrode 243 disposed on thepixel electrode 241, and an organic emitting layer 242 interposedbetween the pixel electrode 241 and the counter electrode 243. Theorganic light emitting device 240 emits red, green, or blue lightaccording to electrical current flow in order to display predeterminedimage information. The organic light emitting device 240 may be disposedon a device/wiring layer 230. In this embodiment, the organic lightemitting device 240 may emit red, green, or blue light, but is notlimited thereto. For example, the organic light emitting device 240 mayemit red, green, blue, or white light.

The first substrate 210 may include a polymer having excellentthermostability and durability or may be a glass substrate. Thedevice/wiring layer 230 may include a driving thin film transistor TFTthat is capable of driving the organic light emitting device 240, aswitching thin film transistor (not shown), a reservoir capacitor C1,and wirings (not shown) electrically connected to the transistors and/orthe reservoir capacitor C1. The driving thin film transistor TFTincludes an active layer 231, a gate electrode 233, and source and drainelectrodes 235 a and 235 b.

In one embodiment, a barrier film 213 is interposed between the firstelectrode 210 and the device/wiring layer 230 to prevent externalforeign substances, such as moisture or oxygen, from transmittingthrough the first substrate 210 and penetrating into the organic lightemitting device 240.

The organic light emitting device 240 may be disposed on thedevice/wiring layer 230. The organic light emitting device 240 includesthe pixel electrode 241, the organic light emitting layer 242 disposedon the pixel layer 241, and the counter electrode 243 formed on theorganic light emitting device 240.

In the current embodiment, the pixel electrode 241 may be an anode, andthe counter electrode 243 may be a cathode, but the electrodes are notlimited thereto, and the pixel electrode 241 may be a cathode, and thecounter electrode may be an anode according to a driving method of theorganic light emitting device. Holes and electrons are respectivelyinjected from the pixel electrode 241 and the counter electrode 243 intothe organic light emitting layer 242. Light is emitted as exitons, eachof which is a bound pair of an electron and a hole, are relaxed from anexcited state to a ground state.

The pixel electrode 241 is electrically connected to the driving thinfilm transistor that is formed on the device/wiring layer 230.

Although, a structure of the organic light emitting device 240 havingthe driving thin film transistor TFT disposed on the device/wiring layer230 is described in the current embodiment, but the structure is notlimited thereto and may be varied in various types. For example, thestructure may have the pixel electrode 241 of the organic light emittingdevice 240 formed on the same layer with the active layer 231 of thethin film transistor TFT. As another example, the structure may have thepixel electrode 241 formed on the same layer with the gate electrode 233of the thin film transistor TFT. Furthermore, structure may have thepixel electrode 241 formed on the same layer with the source and drainelectrodes 235 a and 235 b. Also, although the driving thin filmtransistor TFT has a structure that the gate electrode 233 disposed onthe active layer 231 in the current embodiment, but the structure is notlimited thereto, and the gate electrode 233 may be disposed below theactive layer 231.

The pixel electrode 241 included in the organic light emitting device240 may be a reflective electrode, and the counter electrode 243disposed facing the pixel electrode may be a transparent orsemi-transparent electrode. Thus, light emitted from the organic lightemitting layer 242 may transmit through the counter electrode 243.

The organic emitting layer 242 is disposed between the pixel electrode241 and the counter electrode 243, and the organic light emitting layer242 may be a low-molecular-weight organic material or ahigh-molecular-weight organic material. A middle layer, such as a holetransport layer (EIL), a hole injection layer (HIL), an electrontransport layer (ETL), and an electron injection layer (EIL) may beoptionally disposed as well as the organic light emitting layer 242between the pixel electrode 241 and the counter electrode 243.

The second substrate 250 may cover the display device 220. The secondsubstrate may be formed of a single substrate or have a structure oforganic layers and inorganic layers that are alternately stacked.

The optical film 260 may be formed on the second substrate 250. At leastone of a phase retardation plate and a polarizer may be used as theoptical film 260. The optical film 260 may inhibit reflection ofexternal light thus may increase visibility and contrast of the displaypanel 120.

FIG. 5 is a magnified view of V of FIG. 3 which is a magnifiedcross-sectional view of the opaque layer 130 according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, the opaque layer 130 may include the dielectricmirror layer 134 providing a metallic color sense to a user byselectively reflecting incident light through the window cover 110, anda light absorbing layer 135 formed on the dielectric mirror layer 134.

In an embodiment, the opaque layer 130 may be manufactured bysequentially forming the dielectric mirror layer 134 and the lightabsorbing layer 135 on a rear surface of a film 132. The opaque layer130 manufactured in such manner may be attached to the rear surface ofthe window cover 110 through an adhesive layer 131.

The film 132 may include a transparent material so that the lightincident through the window cover 110 may enter the dielectric mirrorlayer 134. For example, the film may be formed ofpolyethylene-etherphthalate, polyethylene-naphthalate, polycarbonate,polyarylate, polyether-imide, polyether-sulfone or polyimide, or thelike.

The film 132 serves as a medium for disposing the dielectric mirrorlayer 134 and the light absorbing layer 135 on the rear surface of thewindow cover 110, which may be omitted according to stages of a process.For example, if the dielectric mirror layer 134 may be directly formedon the rear surface of the window cover 110, and the light absorbinglayer 135 may be formed on the dielectric mirror layer 134, the film 132may be omitted.

The dielectric mirror layer 134 may include a plurality of dielectriclayers 341, 342, and 343 that have different refractive indexes. Forexample, the dielectric mirror layer 134 may include a first dielectriclayer 341 formed on the rear surface of the window cover 110, a seconddielectric layer 342 formed on the first dielectric layer 341, and athird dielectric layer 343 formed on the second dielectric layer 342.

In an embodiment, the refractive indexes of the first and thirddielectric layers 341 and 343 may be formed larger than the refractiveindex of the second dielectric layer 342. That is, the dielectric mirrorlayer 134 may include the first dielectric layer 341 of a highrefractive index, the second dielectric layer 342 of a low refractiveindex, and the third dielectric layer 343 of a high refractive index.For example, the first and third dielectric layers 341 and 343 mayinclude titanium dioxide (TiO₂), and the second dielectric layer 342 mayinclude silicon dioxide (SiO₂).

In another embodiment, the refractive indexes of the first and thirddielectric layers 341 and 343 may be formed smaller than the refractiveindex of the second dielectric layer 342. That is, the dielectric mirrorlayer 134 may include the first dielectric layer 341 of a low refractiveindex, the second dielectric layer 342 of a high refractive index, andthe third dielectric layer 343 of a low refractive index. For example,the first and third dielectric layers 341 and 343 may include silicondioxide (SiO₂), and the second dielectric layer 342 may include titaniumdioxide (TiO₂).

As described above, a metallic color sense may be provided to a userthrough the dielectric mirror layer 134 in which high-refractive-indexlayers and low-refractive-index layers are alternately formed. Thedielectric mirror layer 134 including the dielectric layers 341, 342,and 343 may provide various metallic color senses based on interferenceof light reflected at an interface of each of the dielectric layers 341,342, and 343.

For example, a part of the light incident through the window cover 110is reflected by the dielectric mirror layer 134 and thus provides ametallic color sense to a user, and the rest of the light that is notreflected at the dielectric mirror layer 134 is absorbed by the lightabsorbing layer 135. In this regard, the light absorbing layer 135 maybe a black printing layer. The light absorbing layer 135 may be formedby applying a black paint on the dielectric mirror 134 by using a methodsuch as spray, screen printing, or the like.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual view schematically illustrating a path of lightincident through the opaque layer 130.

Referring to FIG. 6, the light incident through the window cover iswhite light that enters the dielectric mirror layer 134. In particular,a part of the light incident toward the first dielectric layer 341 isreflected, and the rest of the light is refracted and enters the seconddielectric layer 342, a part of the light incident toward the seconddielectric layer 342 is reflected, and the rest of the light isrefracted and enters the third dielectric layer 343, and a part of thelight incident toward the third dielectric layer 343 is reflected, andthe rest of the light is refracted and enters the light absorbing layer135.

Such light reflection occurs at an interface of each of the layers, andthe light reflected at the interface of each of the layers is a lightcorresponding to a wavelength that satisfies conditions of constructiveinterference of the dielectric mirror layer 134, and the reflected lightprovides a metallic color sense to a user. The wavelength satisfyingconditions of constructive interference is a wavelength within a band ofa visible ray, and a user may recognize a color sense of the lightreflected at the dielectric mirror layer 134. Meanwhile, the light thatis not reflected at the interface of each layer of the dielectric mirrorlayer 134 and transmitted through the dielectric mirror layer 134 isabsorbed by the light absorbing layer 135, which is a block printinglayer.

The dielectric mirror layer 134 may provide various metallic colorsenses to a user by varying a number and a thickness of dielectriclayers.

For example, when the dielectric mirror layer 134 includes the firstdielectric layer 341 having a thickness of about 50 Å and includingTiO₂, the second dielectric layer 342 having a thickness of about 300 Åand including SiO₂, and the third dielectric layer 343 having athickness of about 350 Å and including TiO₂, the user may see a bluecolor of a metallic sense.

In another embodiment, when the dielectric mirror layer 134 includes thefirst dielectric layer 341 having a thickness of about 100 Å andincluding TiO₂, the second dielectric layer 342 having a thickness ofabout 300 Å and including SiO₂, and the third dielectric layer 343having a thickness of about 1000 Å and including TiO₂, the user may seea brow color of a metallic sense.

In another embodiment, when the dielectric mirror layer 134 includes thefirst dielectric layer 341 having a thickness of about 200 Å andincluding TiO₂, the second dielectric layer 342 having a thickness ofabout 400 Å and including SiO₂, and the third dielectric layer 343having a thickness of about 100 Å and including TiO₂, the user may see asilver color of a metallic sense.

FIG. 7 is a magnified cross-sectional view of an opaque layer 130′according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, the opaque layer 130′ may further include a moldinglayer 133. The molding layer 133 may be formed of a urethane acrylatebased resin with a high transmissivity, and a bump may be formed on therear surface of the molding layer 133. In other words, the rear surfaceof the molding layer 133 may be an uneven surface. The molding layer 133may be applied on the rear surface of the film 132 and hardened by anultraviolet (UV) ray to be manufactured.

As the molding layer 133 having an uneven surface is further includedbetween the window cover 110 and the dielectric mirror layer 134, adielectric mirror layer 134′ directly formed on the molding layer 133may also have an uneven surface. The bump/uneven surface of thedielectric mirror layer 134′ may perform a function thatscatter-reflecting light reflected at interfaces of the dielectriclayers 341′, 342′, and 343′.

As described with reference to FIG. 6, the light incident on thedielectric mirror layer 134′ is reflected at the interfaces of thedielectric layers 341′, 342′, and 343′ forming the dielectric mirrorlayer 134′, thereby providing a metallic color sense to a user. Here,the uneven surfaces are included in the interfaces of the dielectriclayers 341′, 342′, and 343′, thus the reflected light may bescatter-reflected in many directions. A user may be provided with astrong metallic color sense due to the scatter-reflection caused by theuneven surfaces.

As described above, a number of the dielectric layers constructing thedielectric mirror layer 134 or 134′ is described as three, but thenumber is not limited thereto. For example, the dielectric mirror layer134 or 134′ may be constructed with two dielectric layers or at leastfour dielectric layers.

As described above, according to the one or more of the aboveembodiments, a display panel assembly and electric equipment may providea metallic color sense to a user by selectively reflecting lightincident through a window cover.

While the above embodiments have been described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, it will be understood by those of ordinary skillin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention asdefined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A window for display device comprising: atransparent substrate including a display area and a non-display areasurrounding the display area; an adhesive layer over the transparentsubstrate; a resin layer over the adhesive layer; a dielectric mirrorlayer over the resin layer; and a light absorbing layer over thedielectric mirror layer, and configured to at least partially absorblight transmitting through the dielectric mirror layer, wherein thedielectric mirror layer and the light absorbing layer are only disposedin the non-display area.
 2. The window for display device of claim 1,wherein the dielectric mirror layer includes alternating layers ofhigh-refractive-index layers and low-refractive-index layers.
 3. Thewindow for display device of claim 2, wherein the dielectric mirrorlayer comprises: a first dielectric layer; a second dielectric layer onthe first dielectric layer; and a third dielectric layer located on thesecond dielectric layer, wherein refractive indexes of the first andthird dielectric layers are less than that of the second dielectriclayer.
 4. The window for display device of claim 1, wherein thedielectric mirror layer comprises: a first dielectric layer formed oftitanium oxide; and a second dielectric layer including silicon oxide.5. The window for display device of claim 1, wherein the light absorbinglayer includes a black pigment.
 6. A display device comprising; atransparent substrate including a display area and a non-display areasurrounding the display area; a display panel disposed in the displayarea, and configured to display an image; an adhesive layer over thetransparent substrate; a resin layer over the adhesive layer; adielectric mirror layer over the resin layer; and a light absorbinglayer over the dielectric mirror layer, and configured to at leastpartially absorb light transmitting through the dielectric mirror layer,wherein the dielectric mirror layer and the light absorbing layer areonly disposed in the non-display area.
 7. The display device of claim 6,wherein the dielectric mirror layer includes alternating layers ofhigh-refractive-index layers and low-refractive-index layers.
 8. Thedisplay device of claim 7, wherein the dielectric mirror layercomprises: a first dielectric layer; a second dielectric layer on thefirst dielectric layer; and a third dielectric layer located on thesecond dielectric layer, wherein refractive indexes of the first andthird dielectric layers are less than that of the second dielectriclayer.
 9. The display device of claim 6, wherein the dielectric mirrorlayer comprises: a first dielectric layer formed of titanium oxide; anda second dielectric layer including silicon oxide.
 10. The displaydevice of claim 6, wherein the light absorbing layer includes a blackpigment.